The Tool Desk
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What PropTech covers—and what it does not
Property technology, or PropTech, is not one product or one market segment. It spans the digital workflows around housing and commercial real estate, from finding a rental or applying for a mortgage to maintaining a building. AI is one component of that field, not a synonym for it: a listing website, electronic signature tool, or maintenance platform can be PropTech without using AI.
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The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) examined selected rental-housing tools in its report Rental Housing: Use and Federal Oversight of Property Technology, dated July 10, 2025, and released August 11, 2025. Its September 22, 2025 report, released December 1, 2025, Property Technology for Homebuying: Products Present Benefits and Risks Amid Evolving Federal Oversight, covered digital tools used in home searches and mortgage transactions. Both reports focus on selected products and practices, not every product or participant in the real-estate market.
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How PropTech changes the rental process
Finding and viewing a home
Listing platforms can distribute rental advertisements across websites, target prospective renters, and handle parts of the application process. Wider reach and less repeated listing work are potential benefits. Virtual tours let prospective renters inspect a layout remotely and may reduce travel, including for people checking accessibility or mobility needs before arranging an in-person visit.
Some platforms offer a reusable application intended to let a renter submit information for multiple units. GAO described this as one company’s example, not a feature renters should expect from every service. Digital presentation also has limits: renters should confirm what a tour shows, and be alert to altered or staged images and fees that are not clear until later in the process.
Screening applicants
Consumer-reporting services and algorithmic screening tools can gather or evaluate information such as rental, eviction, employment, criminal, and credit records. Some produce a score or recommendation for a property owner. A digital result can accelerate review, but it does not make the underlying data accurate or the decision self-explanatory. Applicants may not know what drove a score, and reports can contain outdated or incorrect information.
Setting rents and managing access
Rent-setting or revenue-management tools may use occupancy, market trends, and comparable rents to suggest prices or forecast demand. Such recommendations can influence pricing, but the available GAO review does not establish that these tools generally cause rent increases or coordinate prices. The effect of a particular product depends on how it is used.
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Some access systems use facial recognition to compare a person at an entrance with stored images. GAO’s reviewed agencies and associations identified possible safety benefits as well as privacy and misidentification concerns. Facial recognition is one possible access method, not a requirement for smart building access generally.
Managing property and maintenance
Digital platforms can support rental administration and maintenance workflows. Their value depends on the tasks they handle, how well they fit an operator’s existing processes, and the quality of implementation. The reviewed evidence does not establish a universal return-on-investment figure for property-management software.
Where digital tools enter homebuying and mortgage finance
Search, estimates, and financing
Online real-estate platforms can combine listing searches, estimated property values, financing exploration, and loan applications. Having these activities online can make comparison shopping more convenient, but platform design and paid placement may shape which services or properties users see. The information collected by these platforms also raises privacy questions.
An automated valuation model (AVM) estimates a property’s value. Lenders and other organizations may use AVMs in risk management or to help determine eligibility for an appraisal waiver. An estimate is not a guaranteed appraisal or sale price; accuracy and potential fair-housing effects matter when a model informs a consequential decision.
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Underwriting and closing
Automated underwriting systems analyze application information to assess credit risk and loan eligibility. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac systems are widely used by lenders, but the lender remains responsible for the underwriting decision. Automation therefore does not remove the need for human accountability or appropriate review.
Electronic closing tools can let people access, review, sign, and store transaction documents digitally. GAO describes features used by some tools, including encryption, tamper-evident seals, and tracking. Fully virtual closings remained rare in the evidence covered by its 2025 report, so electronic steps should not be mistaken for a wholly remote closing in every transaction.
What benefits are supported—and what the numbers mean
Potential benefits include broader listing distribution, less repetitive administrative work, remote property viewing, and streamlined steps in valuation, underwriting, and closing. GAO’s homebuying review says digital tools may reduce friction and costs, but outcomes depend on the transaction, implementation, and data. Those potential benefits are not proof that every product saves time or money.
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| Survey response reported by NAR | Share |
|---|---|
| Named saving time as a primary goal for adopting technology | 81% |
| Cited improving client experience as a reason for adopting technology | 71% |
| Reported MLS as a top technology use | 96% |
| Reported e-signature as a top technology use | 79% |
| Reported showing-scheduling tools as a top technology use | 68% |
| Reported daily AI use | 23% |
| Reported weekly AI use | 25% |
| Identified the learning curve as their biggest technology-adoption challenge | 63% |
| Cited cost as a technology-adoption challenge | 59% |
The survey indicates what respondents hope to gain and which tools they report using; it does not establish that technology has delivered those gains across the market. NAR Deputy Chief Economist Jessica Lautz said: “Real estate agents are making practical choices about technology, and the two payoffs they want most are time and a smoother experience for their clients.”
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Risks for renters, buyers, and property operators
Fair housing, steering, and access
Algorithms and listing language can affect who sees a housing opportunity or is encouraged to apply. GAO notes that discriminatory phrases, targeting, or steering may raise Fair Housing Act concerns. A digital system can reproduce or amplify an unfair practice; using software does not by itself make a housing decision compliant.
Incorrect or opaque decisions
Screening records may be inaccurate or outdated, and an applicant may have difficulty understanding an algorithmic score. AVMs and automated underwriting tools also rely on inputs and methods that may not be transparent to the person affected. Accuracy and fairness need to be examined in the populations and circumstances where a tool is used, not assumed from its automated output.
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Online platforms collect personal and transaction data. Facial-recognition access may involve stored images and monitoring. Before adopting or using a system, relevant questions include what data it collects, whether consent is needed, how long information is retained, who can access it, and whether it is shared with others.
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Pricing, listings, and hidden costs
Rent recommendations can influence prices, but the existence of a recommendation tool alone does not establish a general effect on rents. For renters, unclear fees or manipulated property images can also distort comparisons. Check the full cost and ask what a virtual presentation does—and does not—represent.
Who oversees PropTech in the United States?
The two GAO reports do not identify a single federal “PropTech regulator.” Instead, existing agencies and laws apply to particular practices, depending on the product, its use, and the circumstances. In rental housing, the reports discuss HUD and DOJ fair-housing responsibilities, FTC and CFPB responsibilities related to consumer reporting and unfair or deceptive practices, and antitrust enforcement. In homebuying and mortgage technology, the agencies reviewed include CFPB, HUD, FHFA, FTC, and VA, as well as the government-sponsored enterprises.
GAO recommended that HUD provide public housing agencies with more specific written direction on facial-recognition technology. In its homebuying report, GAO recommended that FHFA provide written direction to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac clarifying fair-lending compliance expectations and supervision. These recommendations are not evidence that existing laws do not apply. Because both reports were published in 2025, agency actions or policy may have changed since their publication.
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How to evaluate a PropTech tool before relying on it
Whether you are a renter, buyer, owner, or operator, evaluate a tool against the decision or workflow it will actually affect. These are practical questions drawn from the uses and risks described above, not a standardized GAO or NAR rating system.
- Workflow: What specific task does it handle, and what still requires a person?
- Data: Where does its information come from, how current and representative is it, and how are errors corrected?
- Explainability and challenge: Can an affected person understand a consequential result and dispute inaccurate information?
- Human review: Who can review an output, override it, or escalate a difficult case?
- Privacy and security: What information is collected, retained, secured, and shared? What consent or access controls apply?
- Fairness and accessibility: Has the tool been assessed for fair-housing and consumer-protection compliance and for accessibility in its actual use context?
- Fit and cost: Does it integrate with current systems, and do implementation and subscription costs match the problem it solves?
- Evidence of results: Are claimed savings or performance improvements independently measured in a setting relevant to yours?
Long-term opportunities depend on implementation
The strongest opportunities are in repeated, data-rich, costly, or labor-constrained workflows: predictive maintenance, energy and building operations, construction productivity, mortgage processing, and integrating fragmented legacy systems. These applications may help teams identify problems earlier or reduce friction, but a forecast is not a result. PwC’s 2026 outlook describes PropTech as moving from pilots toward implementation; that is a forward-looking industry perspective, not a universal or settled trend.
Durable value will depend on reliable data, systems that organizations can actually adopt, accountable decision-making, and measurable outcomes. For people using or affected by these tools, convenience is meaningful only when paired with accuracy, privacy, transparency, and a way to seek human review.
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